A Canadian court has issued CAD 41,288 (USD 30,412, EUR 26,313) in fines to two individuals caught illegally harvesting and selling prawn from a closed area.

The charges originated in 2022, when Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) was alerted to a vessel fishing in an area off the coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, that had been closed to commercial prawn fishing.

According to the government, Scott Castle directed Vessel Master Terry Lorenze to fish in an area of the Stuart Channel near Ladysmith, British Columbia, Canada, for multiple days, even though the area had been closed. Authorities charged the two for illegally fishing, as well as for selling the illegally sourced prawns and failing to fill out mandatory fish slips for the catch.

Castle was found guilty by the Nanaimo Provincial Court 29 April and fined CAD 30,000 (USD 22,095, EUR 19,117) for fishing during a closed time and not completing fish slips, as well as an additional CAD 8,228 (USD 6,104, EUR 5,281) for the sale of the prawns. Lorenze was found guilty of the same charges on 15 May. He was fined CAD 3,000 (USD 2,210, EUR 1,912) and banned from fishing for five years.

“The lucrative commercial prawn fishery is a significant source of revenue for commercial harvesters, as well as providing processing-related jobs that benefit coastal communities,” DFO said in a statement. “Excess and illegal harvesting undermines these economic benefits, harming not only harvesters and communities but also recreational anglers and Indigenous peoples who rely on prawn as a vital food source. Excess and illegal harvesting also poses a serious threat to conservation efforts.”

Source - https://www.seafoodsource.com